The perch is the largest in Russia and in the world. Features of structure and behavior of perch

A frequent trophy in the catches of fishing enthusiasts, especially the winter one, is the river perch. A large perch is the most desired prey, and catching this fish, you want to immediately weigh it, measure it and take a picture.

In this article we will talk about this wonderful fish and how the weight and size of the perch correlate with its age. You can also find out where the biggest perch in the world was caught.

Perch: habitat

River perch is one of the most well-studied and common fish species in Eurasia. And yet, in fact, the issues pertaining to the biology of the perch are much greater than the answers. It turns out that other species of fish are even worse.

River perch lives in almost all of Eurasia. In Asia, it is found even in the north (Kolyma), and once stood out as a separate subspecies. In the south, on Lake Balkhash, this species is adjacent to the Balkhash perch.

In Europe, its habitat first extended to the northern part of the British Isles, the northern parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the north of the Kola Peninsula. The southern area covered almost the whole of Europe. But now the places where this fish meet are expanding, since perch river, being a competitive species, often replaces local endemic representatives when introduced into new reservoirs.

Today perch occurs in the north of Ireland and Britain, sometimes in Iran, Turkey, China and even Africa. He was able to acclimatize both in Australia and New Zealand. Only in the USA this fish did not take root because of its displacement by the local species of yellow perch, which is very similar to the river one.

The largest river perch lived on the Nile River. About this a little more you can find out below.

Description

Perch has an excellent ecological plasticity, and therefore, adapting to different conditions of life, it can look quite different. For example, in the Karelian lakes one can find almost black representatives of the species. This coloring allows them to mask well. And in many rivers, where the sandy bottom predominates, this fish, on the contrary, is very light. Even the stripes on her body are sometimes not visible.

Also, the sizes, proportions, number and color of fins can vary. It is important to note that all these existing forms are not subspecies. Their external features are not inherited, and over time, for example, the dark coloration of Karelian perch, placed in a pond with a lighter bottom, is gradually clarified.

The largest grouper in Russia is considered to weigh slightly less than 6 kilograms, but this is a fairly rare phenomenon. Even with a mass of about 1.5 kg, this fish is considered large, and more than two kilograms is very large. In small water bodies, the average weight of perch rarely reaches 700-1200 grams.

Large perches are not that big. For the most part, they grow in height and thickness. Their length is about 54 cm, and the thickness and height are approximately 18 and 27 centimeters respectively.

Habitat

River perch (the largest or smallest), irrespective of size, settles in areas of the reservoir with vegetation or other natural shelters. Usually there are no such currents in such sections of the current, or it is weak.

As a rule, this fish avoids places with strong currents. Therefore, this population is very rare in the mountain rivers (due to very rapid current and too cold water).

Russian perch

The usual size of perch does not exceed 1200 grams. In rare cases, it reaches 2.8 kg, and only in large lakes, for example, on Onega, there are 3-kilogram or more, and on Lake Peipsus - 4-kilogram. It should be noted that for Western Siberia, such giants are no longer a curiosity. Ekaterinburg lakes and reservoirs of its surroundings are the home of huge perch (about 5 kg).

The biggest caught perch in Russia is the female eggs, weight of which reached 5.965 kg. She was caught on Lake Tishkin Sor in 1996, in the Tyumen region (Uvat district).

Particularly large perches are caught in Siberia and the Lower Volga. This is due to the presence of large fodder land and a slight pressure of civilization.

The age of the fish is determined by the annual rings marked on the upper jaw and on the laryngeal bone. Approximately up to 23 years can live river perch. This age was recorded in the perch, who lived and was caught in Mongolia, in the Khubsugul lake. Its length was 44.7 cm, and the body weight - more than 2 kg.

Both the size and life expectancy of fish of this species also depend on the characteristics of the reservoir. Where does a large perch inhabit Russia? The largest specimen can meet in the deltas of the Kuban and Volga rivers and in the reservoirs of Siberia.

Types of perch

In many large reservoirs, the perch population is represented by two races, each of which has its own habitats, ration and behavior characteristic for them only. In the bays, in the coastal thickets, there is a so-called perch grass, and it is quite a lot, but it grows slowly. It feeds on such a specimen mostly by invertebrates, but often itself is a victim of predators. Usually he gets caught in a fishing float while fishing.

Features of deep perch can be described as follows: it grows rapidly, has a thick and broad body, feeds mainly on small fishes.

A characteristic feature for representatives of both races is that at a certain stage they occupy approximately the same habitat and lead a similar lifestyle. Changes and the appearance of differences occur in the process of growing up. It should be noted that in the deep-seated race the proportion of females is much higher. This is due to the fact that fast-growing females annually spawn.

Concerning the herbal form, some researchers believe that not quite enough fodder base for them definitely hampers their growth, and the development of caviar, in connection with which representatives of this species spawn only a year later.

Nile perch

Nile perch is the biggest perch in the world. In length up to two meters this individual reaches, and its weight can exceed 150 kilograms.

Due to its huge size, this perch is the most important predator in any place of its habitat. It is found mainly in such rivers as the Nile, the Niger and the Congo.

It was in the fifties of the 19th century that the Nile perch was an important commercial species. He was brought to the lakes of East Africa - Victoria and Tanganyika.

In addition, this species was also launched into the artificial lake Nasser, in which it was bred as a commercial fish. Such perch is among the fishermen-athletes favorite prey. In connection with his unusually large size and fierce temper for any fisherman, he is a welcome trophy. The photo of the largest perch is presented below.

Nile perch is usually fed by fish of other species, cancers, insects. There are cases of eating small representatives of their own kind. The gluttonous perch with pleasure bites on artificial top dressing and bait.

Anglers from all over the world come to the rivers and lakes of Africa with one single purpose - to catch this magnificent giant representative. And the meat of this fish is very tasty.

It should also be noted that in 2002, a fisher from the UK was able to catch the world's largest Nile perch, weighing about 85 kilograms. In addition, Lake Victoria once caught a deer naturally bass (the largest), the mass of which reached 140 kilograms. And ichthyologists say that this is not the limit.

A little bit about spawning

A rise in temperature to 10 degrees and the descent of ice is a good incentive to spawn perch. Conditions such are necessary for complete ripening of the eggs, as it depends on the presence of food and oxygen in the water.

Spawning migration is a typical, but not mandatory, phenomenon. For example, perch, living in fresh water, usually just looking for well-warmed up and shallow areas. But the individuals living in the slightly saline water bodies go to fresh water for spawning, because their caviar is sensitive to salt (in saline solution it dies as a result of dehydration).

Spawning perch has a duration of about a week. The number of eggs in large females can reach up to 300,000, although on average their number is about 20-30 thousand.

On the habits of fish

In fact, the perch is schooling fish. Only the largest individuals are kept alone. Young people usually get into large ones, with up to 100 individuals and more flocks. Feed on young fish eggs of other fish and invertebrates. Therefore, it is not the quantity in the pack that is important, but the good place.

Perch teenagers keep flocks of about 5-20 pieces, because in a similar composition it is easier to hunt for fry, knocking them into a heap and creating a kind of boiler in which predators quickly lose self-control from the sight of a large amount of prey and begin to aggressively attack. "Boiler" for spinning fishing is the most convenient option, but the chances of catching a large specimen are not great.

In conclusion about environmental requirements

Here such an interesting fish lives in numerous reservoirs and rivers of the vast territories of many countries. The optimal water temperature for it is 10-22 degrees Celsius. With a slight decrease in temperature, its activity drops, but not much. Even in the dead of winter, she continues to feed.